Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Building Safety Update

Michael Gove: In my written statement of 19 February 2024 (HCWS264), I committed to revising statutory guidance to call for more than one staircase to be provided in residential buildings with a storey of 18m or more in height. Government published this guidance on 29 March 2024 alongside a partial response to the Sprinklers in care homes, removal of national classes, and staircases in residential buildings consultation which ran from 23 December 2022 to 17 March 2023.A second staircase will provide additional capacity to reduce congestion, support egress and facilitate additional access for firefighting and rescue. Occupants will benefit from an alternative means of escape if one route is blocked or filled with smoke and a full building evacuation becomes necessary. A threshold at 18m reflects the views of several expert bodies, broadly conforms with statutory definitions of higher-risk buildings in existing legislation and aligns England with international precedent.I realise that an additional staircase has the potential to affect the viability of development. I therefore announced, in October 2023, transitional arrangements which aim to secure the viability of schemes that are already underway. Projects will have until 30 September 2026 to submit building regulations applications and independently have until March 2028 to sufficiently progress work on site. As I made clear in my October 2023 written statement (HCWS1090), this is a continued evolution of our standards for future building construction. Existing buildings, whether single staircase or otherwise will continue to be risk assessed, managed and monitored through the procedures and requirements put in place to ensure that they operate to established safety standards.The Greater London Authority previously set out expectations for second staircases alongside specific fire-safety requirements outlined in the London Plan. Our updated guidance gives a clear national position on this issue. We therefore expect that local authorities will align with this position. We will work with the Greater London Authority to align policies with updated guidance to avoid any disproportionate impact on development.The introduction of a second staircase in tall buildings is a balanced and proportionate policy which is the latest in a series of measures which minimise both the risk and impact of rare, but high-consequence, incidents and thus further enhances the safety of people in their homes. This applies to England only.

Northern Ireland Office

Update on the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and  Information Recovery (ICRIR)

Chris Heaton-Harris: The Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 set out the new legal framework for taking forward Troubles-related investigations, and provided for the establishment of the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR). The Act was a significant milestone in delivering on our pledge to provide better outcomes and greater information, accountability and acknowledgement to those most affected by the Troubles, while also helping society to look forward. I am pleased to confirm that I will be commencing operational functions of the ICRIR as planned on 1 May 2024.The Government has been supporting the ICRIR as it moves towards operational establishment by developing secondary legislation, as provided for in the Legacy Act. We have laid regulations on the holding and handling of information by the ICRIR, in line with s.34 of the Act. In addition, we will shortly lay regulations on the retention of biometric material for the use of the ICRIR, in line with s.35 of the Act.We will also be laying a second set of commencement regulations at the end of April 2024, which will commence functions of the ICRIR. As part of those regulations, we will include two transitional provisions. The first provision is in relation to criminal investigations of Troubles-related offences. Where all that remains to be done on 1 May 2024 is the preparation or completion of the investigation report (or something subsequent to that), then the investigating body may prepare or complete the investigation report (or do anything subsequent to that) between 1 May 2024 and 30 April 2025.The second transitional provision is in relation to decisions not to prosecute a person for a Troubles-related offence taken before 1 May 2024. Where a person requests that the prosecuting authority review such a decision, and as a result of the review the decision is overturned on or after 1 May 2024, the decision is to be treated as if it had been taken under the pre 1 May legal framework. This is provided the review is ongoing on 1 May 2024 or, if the person requests the review on or after that date, that the person does so within 28 days of the decision.In taking these actions the Government is demonstrating its ongoing commitment to implementing the Legacy Act and to provide better outcomes for victims and survivors of the Troubles by delivering the ICRIR. I welcome the Commission’s imminent operational establishment and would encourage all parties to engage fully with it.

Department for Business and Trade

Update on United Kingdom – Republic of Korea Free Trade Agreement Negotiations, Round 2

Greg Hands: The second round of United Kingdom-Republic of Korea (RoK) Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations took place during the week commencing 18 March 2024. A delegation of officials undertook technical discussions in-person in London with some talks taking place virtually.We were pleased to host the RoK delegates for the first home round in London. During the round, technical experts from both sides came together for discussions in 22 separate sessions covering 17 policy areas including; Professional and Business Services, Cross-Border Trade in Services, Domestic Regulation, Financial Services, Mobility, Investment, Digital, Sanitary and Phytosanitary, Technical Barriers to Trade, Gender, Procurement, Competition, State Owned Enterprises Small and Medium Enterprises, Goods Regulatory Practice, and Labour. This round of negotiations was an opportunity to hold further exploratory discussions. Chapter negotiators focused their discussions on establishing a more detailed understanding of the outcomes the UK and RoK are seeking and began to share early text proposals to work from.The third round of negotiations is due to take place in June 2024. HM Government remains clear that we will not sacrifice high quality outcomes for speed and will continue to pursue a deal which delivers the best outcome for the United Kingdom. We will not compromise on our high environmental and labour protections, public health, animal welfare and food standards, and we will maintain our right to regulate in the public interest. We are also clear that during these negotiations, the NHS and the services it provides are not on the table.

Critical Imports Council

Alan Mak: Today the Department for Business and Trade convened the first meeting of the Critical Imports Council. This forum brings together experts from industry, academia and government to help ensure the resilience of those critical supply chains essential to the UK’s economic prosperity, national security and essential services. This meets the commitment made in the UK’s Critical Imports and Supply Chains Strategy, published in January this year.The Council is central to delivering one of the Strategy’s priorities, forging and strengthening the relationships with business and academia that will help the UK adapt and thrive in an evolving global economy. This is part of our plan to improve Britain's long-term economic security and opportunity.The Council, chaired by the Minister for Industry and Economic Security, includes representatives from the UK’s cutting-edge manufacturing, technology, logistics and transportation industries, and the world-leading supply chain expertise in our universities. The Council is responsible for:providing a forum for industry to identify barriers and other issues preventing the reliable and efficient importation of critical goods into the UK;enabling cross-sectoral collaboration and best practice sharing on approaches to build supply chain resilience and test potential policy interventions; andwhere appropriate, enabling joint government / industry development of interventions and allowing the sharing and discussion of evidence and insights This first Council meeting builds on the considerable work done by the previous Minister and officials in developing the Critical Imports and Supply Chains Strategy and subsequent implementation. The link to the Strategy can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-critical-imports-and-supply-chains-strategyWe have published the membership of the Council on Gov.uk at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-ramps-up-work-to-secure-supplies-of-medicines-and-smartphone-chips.